Recalbox is a community-driven open source project in constant evolution (we'll actually talk about what's new in the second part of this article). Up to now (and this won't change), we keep you informed via the blog, our Twitch and YouTube channel with Fab2Ris, and the Patreon space for our Patrons, who follow the project "from the inside".

We also have an email newsletter you can sign up for from the website — for those already subscribed, you've probably noticed we send very few emails. So we've decided to concentrate our email communication via Patreon, and for free.

Why this change?

By signing up for free on Patreon, you'll automatically receive an email for every Recalbox publication: videos, tutorials, release notes, monthly Recalbox / retrogaming newsletters, hardware news, shop updates... All the project's news centralized on a single platform, so you never miss anything, in both French and English! No worries, we rarely send more than one email a week, sometimes every two weeks.

The goal is simple: bring the project even closer to its community. None of this would be possible without you, and we want you to be the first to know about every update, news item, or upcoming event. What could be better than being at work and spotting a Recalbox email letting you know an update is waiting for you at home!

On our end, this also makes things easier — managing mailings internally can be time-consuming, and our emails can end up in spam, etc. With Patreon, sending is automatic, for everyone, in one click. Signing up and unsubscribing are both one click away — in short, a time-saver and more convenient for everyone.

How to sign up (for free)

Head over to patreon.com/cw/recalbox and click "Become a free member" or "Subscribe for free" depending on your browser:

Then choose the free option, without going through a paid tier, by clicking "Skip for now":

And that's it! From now on you'll receive an email for every Recalbox publication on Patreon.

Of course, if you'd like to support the project… we won't stop you ;). Subscriptions help the project and give you access to several perks, which we'll detail in a future blog post since they were recently updated.

Already a Patron?

If you're already a Patreon member, free or paid, you don't need to do anything: you're already receiving our publications by email. This new communication channel changes nothing for you — it's simply aimed at those who weren't following us on Patreon yet.

We hope you'll enjoy this new channel. On our end, it was important to bring you even further into the Recalbox adventure. That said, speaking of the Recalbox adventure, things are moving fast with brand new versions on your Recalbox: on to the news!

A summer focused on optimization

As we write these lines, we're at version 10.0.8, the result of major optimization work, with in particular a significant performance improvement on the Raspberry Pi 5 2GB.

This optimization work has also benefited other boards (Pi 4, Pi 3, various cases...), and this summer is definitely all about performance: Patrons (currently on 10.1-patron-1, more on that just below) will notice overall gains across most emulators, with a particularly visible boost for fans of 3D arcade on Naomi 2 and Model 3.

A big thank you to our latest hardware, the Recalbox JVS, which allowed us to focus our work on demanding systems where optimization was essential, and thanks to which we're able to bring these improvements to the emulators.

The GunCon 2 has also benefited from optimized support, with 99% shot accuracy and compatibility with 31kHz displays, again thanks to the work done around JVS.

10.1-patron-1 is available

On the Patrons' side, 10.1-patron-1 is already available. This version brings so many new features that we could have called it Recalbox 11!

This build brings the Logo View, the Jukebox for managing Patron playlists, a near-perfect GunCon 2 (99% accuracy and 31kHz compatibility), a built-in manual/map reader, a redesigned controller configuration, new virtual keyboards, and the ability to install Recalbox directly from the Recalbox menu to internal storage or USB.

New emulated systems and cores are also available (Philips P2000T, Vircon32, Exelvision EXL100, Epoch Cassette Vision, STV), and as mentioned above, an optimization of the Naomi 2 and Model 3 systems now brings 60 fps to nearly all titles on Raspberry Pi 5, and more broadly, other systems benefit from a 10-15% FPS boost.

This 10.1 will very soon be available to everyone in a stable version. With a major addition we've kept quiet about here — you'll find out very soon ;)

We wish you an excellent end of summer, happy holidays to those lucky enough to have them, and see you very soon!

The Recalbox Team